Some toys are so complex that only a child has the skills needed to assemble them, skills that atropy with the onset of adolescence.

Ex Child - Thanks for commenting. Yes, assembling toys with a young child is a unique experience.

As a kid, I enjoyed a lot of gifts that were *INTENDED* to be assembled by the child: wood blocks, Legos, erector sets, electronic kits, chemistry sets, plastic models, train sets, etc. I also enjoyed a wide variety of art supplies; crayons and colored construction paper gave way to colored pens/pencils, paints and brushes, etc.

As I got older, some of these activities spilled into household tasks like assembling the new BBQ grill, cooking/baking, etc.

Today's kids also enjoy things like building their own gaming PCs, programming Arduino robots, writing software, etc.

Based on my own experience and those of friends, a kid who enjoys these types of activities will quickly move beyond the point of constant adult supervision.

I think the parent/child assembly idea is a good one to start while young. Not only for toys, but anything a child will have to use. I can remember a lot of help when our eldest's first "big bed" arrived and the help we had with all the bits and pieces and the excitement of the first try out as the mattress was placed on the bed and then once again as the sheets and pillows were placed on top. The fact that the child has pictures of the before, during and after as well as first night time experience in pjs with the lamp turned on shows the pride in the accomplishment. Some of the toys will be forgotten in a few years, but this bed will hopefully be around for a long time and even though the pattern on the sheets will change, the bed itself as the "bed I made myself" is priceless.

The skills in assembling toys, furniture, anything in the house, are a little like helping to cook simple meals, are the skills that can be used forever. Starting young is a great idea.

Reader - Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, our son also likes many toys that are intended to be assembled by a child. At this age, train tracks are a big hit - at first it's fun to assemble them as shown on the box, but then it's even more fun to create your own tracks.

Mother of 4 - Yes, definitely a skill that he can use over and over again. What a great idea to take photos of them assembling the bed, before, during and after it's complete.